Lift A Sail
by NotDoneAbusingYou
Summary: Set during 3.04 -3.05. Has Francis been saved? ONE SHOT!


It was a particularly beautiful day, almost surreal. It was perfect. The sun was out, but it wasn't hot. There was just the lightest of breezes, the kind that made you feel like you could breath better. He'd been healed. He was alive. And he was going to get everything he could from it.

He stared out at he water as the light danced off of it, letting the details of it sink into his memory so he could see it whenever he closed his eyes.

"Are you just going to stand there all day?" Mary asked as she emerged from the carriage.

"I was only waiting for you." he answered with a smile. They kissed and ran playfully, hand in hand, to the boat that awaited them at the water's edge.

"Don't forget to lift the sail this time." He said as she climbed in first.

 **If a cold wind starts to rise,**

 **I am ready now, I am ready now**

When they arrived back at court hours later, Bash could be seen outside sparring with Charles.

"I thought you didn't want to learn how to fight?" Francis said as he and Mary approached them.

"I didn't, but you were right. I should learn everything I can. After almost losing you, I know now I should be prepared for anything." Charles said.

"That's good to hear little brother." Francis replied as he patted him on the shoulder. "And you couldn't have a better teacher. Bash taught me as well."

"And he was also a terrible student." Bash said jokingly.

"Francis, there you are. I've been looking for you everywhere." Catherine said as she emerged from the castle. "Don't tell me you two went out on that boat again. I wish you wouldn't take unnecessary chances by going out there with out guards. I don't want you to have come back from the brink of death just to get killed by a preventable accident."

"Mother honestly, nothing is going to happen. You don't need to worry so much." he said as she put a hand on his arm.

"I'm your mother. It's my job to worry." she informed.

"Can you really blame her, after such a close call?" Bash said. Catherine looked at him a bit surprised but then looked back at Francis with a 'see I told you so' kind of expression.

"No, of course no one is blaming you for worrying Catherine." Mary said to her and then turned to face Bash. "I worry too, but this 'close call' as you have put it made us realize we shouldn't waist time worrying about things we have no control over." Catherine pursed her lips.

"Please just take guards next time, for my sanity." she said. Francis simply put a hand on her shoulder. She looked over at Bash and Charles noticing the swords in their hands.

"Shouldn't you be practicing with wooden swords? Charles you're not experienced enough to spar with a sharpened blade. Bash you should know better, remember what happened with Francis, you nearly ran him through." she scolded.

"I think that's a bit exaggerative." Bash argued, but then rolled his eyes picking up the sparring swords and switching them for the sharpened ones. "Better?" he asked. She nodded, happy she got her way. Mary and Francis just smiled at each other and shook their heads.

 **With the last sail lifted high,**

 **I am ready now, I am ready now**

 _{"Do you think he can hear us?" Charles asked as he peered at an unconscious Francis._

 _"The physicians say he can't. This is just like the last time." Catherine answered, worry lining her features._

 _"I don't understand, he was doing so much better." Mary interjected with a tear rolling down her cheek._

 _"We should pray." Catherine said taking her hand.}_

"Mary. Mary come with me, there's something I want you to see." Francis said as he jogged up to Mary taking her hand.

"What is it?" she asked.

"I found the most beautiful spot in the woods. I thought we could go on a picnic." he told her.

"That sounds wonderful but I really should get back to these letters. I need to find a new regent for Scotland. I was thinking a permanent one." she said. "So I will never have to leave you." he grinned and kissed her.

"And you will find one...tomorrow. Today we go on a picnic." he insisted pushing the papers aside and pulling her out the door.

 _{"I came as soon as I heard." Bash said as he entered the room. "Is there any change?" Catherine shook her head._

 _"I sent for Nostradamus. If anyone can help it's him." she said._

 _"It's the prophecy isn't it? It's all coming true." Mary asked Catherine. Catherine looked down, not wanting to hurt her further by confirming that she believed it was._

 _"It can't be. The prophecy said you would be the cause...you had no hand in his illness." Bash tried to comfort her.}_

 **All the wreckage I left behind,**

 **I burned the earth beneath my weary - weakened feet.**

"Bash! Bash! Have you seen Francis and Mary? Did they go out on the boat again?" Catherine hurriedly questioned Bash as she ran into him in the hall.

"No. Francis took her on a picnic in the woods...is everything alright?" He asked calmly.

"Oh god, the woods...Nostradamus has returned. He told me there were parts of the prophecy he left out. The woods, a tree, blood...it's all very complicated there's no time...you have to find them...you have to find them now or Francis is dead." Bash looked at her horrified. "Go! Go! Hurry!" Bash ran off, grabbing Leith and a few guards on the way.

 **Feel my heart stop and lift my eyes,**

 **I can't choose when when to love or who I am a part of.**

 _{Catherine and Mary were alone in Francis's room now. Both were seated next to the bed, Mary holding his hand._

 _"So many regrets, what if you were right, what if this is somehow my fault? How could I live with that?" Mary sobbed._

 _"No. I was wrong. It's not your fault. Bash was right. There's no way you could have caused this. I only blamed you before because I wanted to hurt you. You did a lot of awful things, as have I, but this isn't one of them."}_

 **If a cold wind starts to rise,**

 **I am ready now, I am ready now.**

A single tree stood in front of them. White flowers in full bloom, petals circled around, a single beam of light glowing on it.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Francis said.

"It's extraordinary. How did you find it?" Mary asked. Francis stopped a moment to think. How did he find it? Why can't he remember?

 **With the last sail lifted high,**

 **I am ready now, I am ready now.**

 _{"...A flowering tree unlike any I've seen, strange and dreamlike...and then there is blood." Nostradamus finished explaining the parts of the prophecy he hadn't shared, the parts that hadn't made sense to him._

 _"I don't understand. How can that be?" Mary asked._

 _"I'm not sure, but I began seeing them again just this morning and again on my way here." Nostradamus clarified. He paused, another vision started flooding in._

 _"What is it? What do you see?" Catherine asked, recognizing his familiar glazed look._

 _"Men. Several of them. They are armed..."}_

 **I was so wrong and unaware,**

 **I locked myself away, I thought that I'd be safe,**

"Who are you? What do you want from us? Francis asked the men, trying not to seem aggressive and instigate an attack.

"We know who you are King Francis. And we want your lives, in repayment, for all the protestant blood spilled." Said one of the men. They went for Mary, grabbing her arms behind her back.

 _{"No." Francis mumbled in his sleep. "Leave her alone." The words came out as Nostradamus's vision unraveled._

 _"You said it was dreamlike. Could it be..." Catherine said, suggesting his vision is actually of Francis's dream.}_

Francis fought them off as best he could, but there were too many of them and he was loosing. Suddenly the men disappeared and Nostradamus was standing there in front of him. Francis looked around confused.

"The prophecy is imminent." He said.

"No. How are you here?" Mary said. He disappeared again and the men were back. Before Francis had a chance to realize they were there again, one of them was running him through. He pulled his sword back, letting the blood drip onto the clean white petals that littered the ground. Mary screamed as another man pulled her back, holding her down while a third man held a sword at her throat. Francis dropped to the ground just as Bash arrived. He bent over him.

"Francis, Francis No." He said as he tried to stop the bleeding.

"Forget me, help Mary. Please help Mary." He begged.

"It's too late." Bash said as they turned to see Mary's throat slit by a hooded figure.

"No." Francis choked. The figure removed the hood to reveal it had been Catherine beneath it.

"I told you to bring guards with you." She said with a hiss as her eyes turned black.

 **Then I realized I'd gone nowhere**

 **Life is just to sweet to lie in this defeat.**

 _{"No!" Francis screamed as his eyes flew open. He was sweaty and pale and his heart was racing._

 _"Francis! Francis it's alright, it's okay." Mary said trying to sooth him as she climbed up onto the bed next to him._

 _"Oh god." Breathed Catherine as she flew to his side, taking hold of his hand._

 _"What happened? I heard screams from the hall." Bash said entering the room in a hurry._

 _"He's awake." Catherine said. Bash rushed inside, happy, until he saw him, looking grey and fragile and barely aware. His face fell. Nostradamus felt uncomfortable._

 _"I'll call for your children." He said to Catherine as he left the room. She nodded but didn't look at him. She reached up to smooth back a Francis's hair, but he jerked away. Catherine looked as though someone had burned her. He was still dazed. He looked and realized Mary was safe._

 **If a cold wind starts to rise,**

 **I am ready now, I am ready now.**

 _"You're okay." He said quietly._

 _"It was just dream." She said._

 _"It was so real." He said and turned to Catherine. "You killed her."_

 _"Oh Francis, no...I would never do that. Never." She said and looked at Mary. "I know I've been cruel at times, but I would never..." she looked back at Francis. "I swear to you." Francis sighed and squeezed Catherine's hand._

 **With the last sail lifted high,**

 **I am ready now, I am ready now.**

 _"Bash." Francis said. Bash walked up next to Catherine._

 _"I'm here." He said._

 _"Charles will need someone to continue his sword lessons, John too someday." He said._

 _"And they shall." He said smiling a bit at the strangeness of the comment._

 _"Make sure you use the sparring swords, not the sharpened ones." He said._

 _"Of course." He said confused. Charles, Claude and Lola entered the room. Lola was carrying John._

 _"Oh no." Lola said._

 _"Bring him here." Francis said. Lola brought him and sat him on the bed next to Francis. He reached out and took his hand. "He'll never know me."_

 _"He will." Mary said._

 _"Because we will tell him, everyday." Catherine added._

 _"This can't be happening." Claude said. He held out his hand and Claude took it._

 _"Be good Claude. I know you can be. Make me proud." He said. She nodded with tears in her eyes._

 _"Charles, I know you're scared. I've taught you as much as I could in so short a time, but there's one important lesson I missed. One I never learned myself. Listen to mother. She may not always take the best actions, but she has the best intentions." He said and looked to Catherine "Learn to compromise with each other. Try to find a kinder way if you can, please." She nodded and smoothed his hair back. This time he didn't flinch. Lola sniffled._

 _"Lola, I know you think he loves you, and he might, but promise me you'll be careful with Narcisse. Don't trust him completely." He said. He turned to Mary._

 _"I wish I could have left you knowing you were safe." He said._

 _"I promised you I would look after he and I will. She will be safe if I can help it." She said and took Mary's hand. "She's family." Mary half smiled, knowing what that meant for Catherine. Family is everything to her. Francis tried to smile too, glad to see them getting along._

 _"Don't you worry about us, we will all protect each other Francis." Bash said. He looked at Catherine. "All of us."_

 _"That's right. None of us will be alone." Mary said._

 _"Except for you." Catherine said sadly._

 _"Don't worry, I have a brother and sisters waiting for me." He said. "I'll make sure I give them all a kiss for you." He told her. She could barely hold back the tears now. She kissed his head and hugged him. "I do forgive you mother." He turned to Mary._

 _"I have no words for you. There is so much to say, I wouldn't know where to begin, but I want you to know I have no regrets. I wouldn't give up our time together for anything. If dying is the price for it, I will pay gladly. You are still my light." He told her. The tears were streaming from her eyes as she kissed his cheek. His eyes began to glaze over. "I can see them now, Ann and James. They're just on the other side of the lake. They're waiting for me."_

 _"Don't forget to lift the sail." Mary said as the blood began to drip from his ear again. Everyone was crying now. Claude grabbed onto Charles for comfort. Lola kissed John's head._

 **If a storm blows in on me,**

 **I am ready now, I am ready now.**

 _"I am ready now." Francis said as his eyes fluttered shut for the last time._

 _"Francis!" Mary yelled and collapsed crying onto his chest. Catherine slowly stood. Her face frozen in shock. She started to back up and leave the room._

 _"I have to inform the council. I have to secure everything. Funeral arrangements must be made..." she rattled off tasks she had to complete, feeling that if she just kept moving, kept talking, that it wasn't true. Bash saw her trying to leave._

 _"Catherine, you can't just leave." He said through his tears._

 _"I have to. There's so much to do. I can't leave it up to anyone else. I have to don't you understand?" She said, as it started to settle in._

 _"Catherine..." Bash said as he started to realize it was only a cover. She tried to stop the tears with a hand to her mouth._

 **When the waves come from underneath,**

 **I am ready now, I am ready.**

 _"My son is dead." She said as the flood began. She started to feel weak in the knees and collapsed into Bash's arms and they dropped to the floor just next to the bed. She didn't care that it was Bash, she just needed to be held. For someone to shield her from the world so she could be weak in that moment. She freely cried into his chest knowing he would understand. Claude and Charles went to her then too, sitting next to her, each taking an arm. When she was able to collect herself enough, she realized Mary was still crying into Francis's chest. She pulled herself from her children gently and leaned over Mary._

 _"Mary. Mary." She said, trying to pull her off of him. "Mary come on." She cried as she finally pried her off. Mary immediately turned and wrapped her arms around Catherine. She clung to her, laying her head on her shoulder._

 **If a cold wind starts to rise,**

 **I am ready now, I am ready now.**

 _Later that night, Catherine laid in bed, unable to sleep. She stared at the ceiling praying it was all a nightmare. The door creaked open, it was Mary._

 _"I...I just didn't want to be alone." She said. Catherine said nothing as Mary made her way into the room. She lifted the blanket up to let her under the covers. She curled up next to her._

 _"I remember when you were young, you used to do this all the time. Then it was because you were afraid of monsters under your bed." Said Catherine. Mary might have smiled at that if she could remember how, so she just laid her head on her shoulder instead. Then the door opened again, it was Claude and Charles. They climbed in on the opposite side of the bed. Claude taking her other shoulder. Catherine stroked her daughter's hair. Then there was a knock as Bash entered._

 _"Catherine the privy council needs..." he began with a sniffle until he saw she had company. "Never mind, I'm sure it can wait until tomorrow." He said as he turned to leave._

 _"Bash." Catherine said. He turned. She held out her hand. "None of us need be alone." He could barely believe what he was seeing, but he climbed in next to Charles and took Catherine's hand, and they all stayed like that until they fell asleep._

 **With the last sail lifted high,**

 **I am ready now, I am ready now.**

 _The next day, Mary, Catherine, Bash, Claude, Charles, Lola and Leith stood out by the water. Francis's boat sat at the edge. Mary placed a sash with their emblem emblazoned across into it, Catherine placed his crown inside, Bash one of his swords, Lola a blanket of John's and Leith a piece of armor from the suit he wore in battle with him._

 **If a storm blows in on me,**

 **I am ready now, I am ready now.**

 _"I am ready now." Mary said._

 _Catherine crossed herself and said a silent prayer. Mary, Catherine and Lola walked away as Bash, Leith and Charles lifted the sail and pushed the boat out into the lake. They joined the women on the shore and watched as it slowly floated away._

 **When the waves come from underneath,**

 **I am ready now, I am ready.**

 _"I can still see him on the boat." Mary said. Catherine hooked her arm around Mary's._

 _"He's at peace now." She said. They waited there until the boat was out of sight, hoping it had made it to heaven to meet Francis.}_

 **With the last sail lifted high,**

 **I am ready now, I am ready now.**

*Bolded lyrics are Yellowcard's 'Lift a Sail'

*I realize the italics and regular text should have probably been in reverse, but I didn't want to give away that it was a dream at first.


End file.
